Planet Anime Kansas City

Review by eFreeware

Conventions are the sort of event where the printed schedule stops being useful the moment a panel runs long or a line eats into your afternoon. You end up juggling a folded map, a bookmark in the program guide and a phone browser, trying to work out whether the signing you wanted is still happening. A companion app that holds the same information in one screen solves a real problem, and that is the job this one sets out to do.

Planet Anime Kansas City is the official app for the convention of the same name, published by PlanetComiconKC. It is a free download in the Events category, carries no advertising and offers no in-app purchases. The app has more than 10,000 installs and an Everyone content rating, and it was released in September 2023, with a 2026 update that gives it a brand new look.

What the app puts in your hand

It covers the convention's guests, programming, maps and events. Those four things cover most of what an attendee needs during a weekend at a show, from working out who is signing and when, to finding the room a panel is in.

I would expect the guest list to be the part people check first, since autograph and photo opportunities usually shape how a day gets planned. Programming comes next: the panels, screenings and stage events that fill the schedule. Maps matter just as much once you are inside the venue and trying to move between halls without walking the long way around.

Because everything sits in a single app, the appeal is having one place to look rather than cross-referencing a paper guide against a venue map. That is a modest promise, but for a weekend event it is the useful one. The app does not try to be a general-purpose convention tool for other shows, and the name makes its scope fairly clear.

Planning before you travel and during the show

There are two moments when an app like this earns its space on your phone. The first is the run-up to the event, when you are deciding which days to attend and which panels are worth building a schedule around. Having the guest and programming information in front of you makes that easier than scrolling through social posts for updates.

The second is on the floor itself. Maps and event listings are the things you reach for when you are standing in a hallway deciding where to go next, and that is exactly the material the developer says the app contains. It is a straightforward arrangement: the same information the convention publishes, packaged for a phone.

The app was last updated in August 2026, and the developer's note for that release mentions a new look for the year. For an app tied to a single annual event, that kind of refresh matters, since the interface is what you will be squinting at in a crowded hall.

What you need before it is useful

There is not much to prepare. The app is free, so there is no purchase decision to weigh before downloading it, and it carries no ads or in-app purchases. The content rating is Everyone, which fits the audience for an anime convention.

The practical preparation is on your side: install it before you travel rather than trying to sort it out at the venue.

The one thing to keep in mind is that this is a companion to a specific event. Its value is tied to Planet Anime Kansas City and the information the convention publishes for it, so it is not the sort of app that keeps giving between shows.

A companion for Planet Anime Kansas City attendees

If you are going to Planet Anime Kansas City, this is the obvious thing to have on your phone. It is free, it carries no ads or purchases, and it gathers the guests, programming, maps and events the developer says it contains. For planning which panels to catch and finding your way once you are inside, that covers the basics well.

It is not aimed at anyone else. If you are not attending the convention, there is nothing here for you. No rating is published, so there is no crowd verdict to lean on; the case for installing it rests on whether you want the show's information in app form.

My advice is simple: install it ahead of the event, look through the guest and programming listings while you plan, and keep it open on the day for the maps. For the price of a free download, that is a reasonable trade for anyone heading to the show.

What's new in version 2.0.5

A brand new look for 2026!